


fall for a shooting star

by karasunotsubasa



Series: life and love, and zines [12]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, God Yuuri, Happy Ending, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Pampering, Pining, Witchcraft, proper dog care, star witch vitya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28934001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunotsubasa/pseuds/karasunotsubasa
Summary: When Victor, a witch who promised his life to the stars, finds an abandoned puppy in the forest near his home, all he can do is pray to the one that slumbers in the darkness of the Great Hunt for guidance. Little does he know that the Lord of Canis Major himself will answer his call.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Series: life and love, and zines [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1070673
Comments: 8
Kudos: 100





	fall for a shooting star

**Author's Note:**

> this little thing was written as a promo for paws on ice, so check it out if you're interested 😉  
> another one of my stories is in the zine itself, so keep an eye out for that one too!

There is very little Victor Nikiforov regrets in his life. He does not regret choosing star magic as his profession. He does not regret applying himself to his work more than he ever could to human interaction. He does not regret sleeping during the day so that at night he may stare at the dark, speckled with stars skies. He does not regret moving away from the village he was born in and settling down in a place where humans rarely venture.

He does not regret any of it, for his love for the stars fills his heart and makes his choices worth it.

But, if there is one thing Victor does indeed regret, it is the loneliness that comes with this kind of life. The stars, however beautiful, magical and interesting, are distant and cold – they can never replace the warmth of a smile or a touch of a helping hand. And, while Victor tries to convince himself that these do not matter as long as he finds inspiration to continue his work, a part of him recognizes the deep longing that swells inside him with time: a want for companionship, a need to share his laughter and sadness with another.

On that star-fated night, it is these reasons exactly that guide him to accept the opportunity he's been given. For in the forest that spreads north from his humble abode, Victor finds an overturned carriage and, in it, traces of robbery and naught else. Or so he believes until he hears the mewling from under one of the seats. There is a wicker basket there, once he checks, and it is from within that the sound plays on the heartstrings of his loneliness.

Unable to reason with himself, Victor opens it. The moment his eyes meet the brown, button-like eyes of the puppy, he knows it is fate.

He brings the little one back home, but thus begins his biggest challenge – he knows nothing of dogs. The only canines he is familiar with are the bright points of the Canis Major. Sirius, the alpha in the lead, and following him on the hunt – Mirzam, Aludra, Muliphein, Wezen and Theta. Yet, even those brightest in the night sky cannot tell him how to care for a dog.

The little thing, as soon as they stepped into Victor's house, began to sniff everything in sight. It soon found a corner to its liking and curled up in it to sleep. But sleep, it won't forever, Victor knows. It will awaken hungry and needy, and Victor has no knowledge of what dogs eat. What they need, what they can't have, what he should and shouldn't do. He has never before dealt with one, and now that he must… he feels as lost as he is excited for the company.

So, while the puppy slumbers, Victor steps out of the house and kneels in the grass that already smells of dew. His eyes rise to the sky, where he searches for the one who can help him. He finds them with ease: the hounds chasing a hare through the heavenly plains.

There is a belief among the star witches and those who take their power from the stars, a belief that within the darkness between the bright ones slumbers a being, a god who watches over his lot. Each constellation has one, or so it is claimed, and on that night Victor chooses to believe in the unproven. He looks into the darkness that surrounds Sirius, the brightest of the hounds, and prays:

"Please, guide me, Bright One, for I have one of your own under my care and find myself in need of your light," he whispers as magic leaves on his breath in glittering, pale dust. "Guide me, Bright One, so I do not fail. Guide me, Bright One, so I can do the best I can."

He raises his hands then and all magic that has gathered around him pulses with the rhythm of his heartbeat as it rises and rises and rises. Victor remains with his arms held up until the grey light of dawn stings at his eyes. Only then does he lower his arms and cuts the connection to his magic that has risen beyond what any man could reach.

The dog continues to slumber where he left it, so Victor warms some soup for himself and fills a small bowl for the dog as well. He sets it down on the floor, hoping it's enough, before he slips into his bed. The last thought he has as he gives into slumber is not quite a thought, but a feeling.

A completely new feeling of warmth and safety. A feeling of happiness.

***

A knocking on his door awakens him and Victor sits up, instantly aware. No one ever visits him. Especially not at night. A single look out the window tells him that dusk has long since gone. He is a witch, however, so with magic hissing coldly at his fingertips, he moves to open the door. Should it be a robber, a murderer, a vandal set out to hurt him, Victor will be ready.

But as he opens the door, it is not any of those that he sees. Before him stands a young man, not much younger than Victor himself. His face is kind, his eyes warm despite the silvery, cold mist that seems to gather an inch from his skin. The man smiles at him and, for all that it should seem cold from the way star magic thrums around him, his expression warms Victor's heart.

"You have called," the man says. "And I have answered."

Before Victor's mind can register the meaning behind these words, he hears the tumultuous padding of tiny paws and the little dog squeezes between his legs to nuzzle into the man's boot, yapping in delight. With another sweet smile, the man crouches and picks the dog in his arms. The little one wiggles in his hands, mewling and trying to lick at his chin, which only makes the man chuckle.

It is only when the amused brown eyes peer into his that Victor remembers himself. He falls to his knees on the doorstep of his home and lowers his head, full of awe and respect, for he has no doubts that the person before him is the god slumbering within the Hunt.

"My lord," he begins, but a hand that rests on top of his bowed head halts him. It is warm, surprisingly so, and Victor shudders at how good it feels.

"There is no need for this," the Lord of the Canis Major says as his hand strokes Victor's hair gently. "Rise, a friend of my friends."

Victor does as ordered, but he still keeps his eyes lowered respectfully. It is hard to believe, but his prayer has been heard. It has been answered. The man standing at his door now is the god Victor has turned to for guidance last night. He is the power dwelling within the darkness of the Great Dog, the one tasked with protection over all of their kind.

"Please, come inside." Victor quickly steps away to allow the lord entry. "I am deeply honoured you have chosen to help me. Thank you, my lord."

The man steps inside, then sits in one of Victor's rickety chairs. It groans under his weight and Victor fights a flush of embarrassment at how inadequate his home is for someone of such stature, but he does not miss the words spoken to him.

"Yuuri. That is what I am called," the god tells him. "Now come, sit with me and tell me about this little one. What is her name?"

He strokes the puppy curled in his lap with a soft smile that seems to effortlessly light up the darkness of the room like a star brightens the dark nightly sky. It is night time still, but with his light Victor feels as if dawn itself has begun to shine into his home.

"I have not chosen one yet," Victor answers as he takes a seat opposite of Yuuri. "I did not know she was female, either."

"I see," Yuuri says, his smile ever-present. "Then we have a lot to learn. But first, you must pick a name. From it forms a bond that will keep you together through all time."

Victor mulls over the name for the longest of times. Yuuri does not disturb his thoughts, although his very presence does much to hinder Victor's focus. His eyes return to the man, to the hair dark like the night sky, to the eyes brown and warm as if to combat the coldness of his aura, and again to the magic, the starlight that glows from the man's skin like a heavenly robe.

"I think," Victor says at long last and two pairs of eyes turn to him as if they, too, could feel he is ready, "Makka. Her name will be Makkachin."

"Then so be it," Yuuri allows, and rests his hand upon Makkachin's head to bless her. "And what is your name, companion of Makkachin?"

Flushing at how forgetful of his manners he's been, Victor answers: "My name is Victor, and I have promised my life to the stars."

Yuuri's smile, when Victor dares look at it again, is still as kind, as sweet as it has been before. Despite that, however, Victor feels a chill of the stars enter his heart at Yuuri's next order.

"You must learn to share it, then," Yuuri instructs him. "For you are not alone any more, Victor. You understand this, no?"

"I do," Victor hastens to say. "And I will."

The satisfied nod Yuuri gives is everything, and Victor's heart flutters in pride at having pleased him. It is with eagerness and devotion that he nods as Yuuri says: "Let us begin your first lesson."

And, like so, begins a new phase of Victor's life – one not guided by the moon, but by a god that shines as bright as one.

***

Every night, as soon as the stars begin to dust the heavenly brow, Yuuri descends upon the earth on his starry hound and knocks on Victor's door. Makkachin greets him with such joy, such open adoration that Victor could feel jealous, if he himself did not welcome the Lord of Canis Major in much the same way. His work momentarily forgotten, Victor greets Yuuri with smiles that for once are not forced, but full of hope and worship.

First, come the fundamentals of pet care: how to feed a puppy, how to feed a growing dog, how to feed an older dog. They differ, to Victor's surprise, as he takes notes of all that Yuuri has to teach him. No hard food at first, nothing warm ever, and always leave her water to drink. After she grows, slowly introduce hard food, until her teeth are strong enough to chew even the bones.

Then, Yuuri tells Victor about walks and how much dogs need to run.

"To hunt, also," Yuuri adds, "but not all breeds enjoy the more bloody sports. Some do, some only enjoy the hunt for the chase that it promises, and others do not even like that. It all comes down to their own instincts. You will have to see what Makkachin likes and act accordingly."

Victor nods, vowing to the god and himself to see it through.

There are also some less than pleasant subjects that Yuuri touches upon like indigestion and which kind of grass is best for which kind of ache. He also mentions heats and to be watchful of Makkachin during those days.

"She might be weak, but she might also be much more active than usual. You should watch her carefully."

All of Yuuri's advice Victor takes to heart. But after lectures on the proper ways to care for a young dog, there also comes practice and it is on that that Victor finds his heart skipping a beat.

He would have to be blind not to notice how beautiful, how graceful, how stunning in all he does Yuuri is. And he would be a fool if he didn't admit that he finds him appealing in all ways. Of course, being a servant of the stars, Victor knows it is not his place to act upon such feelings. Yuuri is a god, while Victor a lowly servant – there is no hope for this, he is aware. So, his feelings, his admiration, his open attraction, he dutifully locks in his heart.

But even then it is hard to keep them under the lock and key when Yuuri teaches him how to brush Makkachin's hair by brushing Victor's own hair with careful, gentle hands. Or when Yuuri tells him how to file Makkachin's nails and, to demonstrate, he takes Victor's hand and finishes finger by finger, while Victor's heart trembles behind his ribs.

Yuuri does not seem to be affected by the same heartache as Victor, and yet there are moments… brief and fleeting like a wink of a shooting star… moments that Victor's hope rushes to his head and makes him see things. Things that couldn't possibly be. For why would Yuuri's cheeks dust with a pink flush when their hands touch in Makkachin's fur? Why would Yuuri's smile tremble when they sit shoulder to shoulder and suddenly turn to face each other? Why would he come night after night, even when Victor seems to know all he needs already?

He cannot find the answers, for the ones he has seem to be borne of his own need to be close to Yuuri. And those... They cannot be real. They are dreams of a dreaming man, and Victor must not believe in them, for to do that would be to lose his heart completely.

"Every now and then you must bathe her," Yuuri tells him one night. "The dirt will make it difficult to brush her fur, and the tangles will itch. Bathing is optimal."

And, like all lessons, this one also is imprinted in Victor's heart by a demonstration. That night, as the moon hangs bright over them, Victor watches Yuuri strip off his robes. His body is bathed in light that seems to come from within his skin and he lights the river waters as he steps in. He turns to Victor, waiting, and it is with heated eagerness that Victor joins him. The coldness of the water is welcome against his enthusiasm, but in the end it helps little.

Victor has lost his cool the moment he first saw Yuuri and since then he's only been falling, falling, falling...

"Victor? Are you listening?"

"Forgive me," he answers with a smile, "I was distracted."

Yuuri gives him a sweet, understanding smile and turns his eyes away. But is it Victor's eyes that play tricks on him? Or do Yuuri's ears seem a little pink against the silver glow of him? The thought speeds Victor's heartbeat, yet he does not allow himself to linger upon it. Nothing good will come out of that, he knows.

Makkachin swims up to them, so Victor latches onto the excuse she offers.

"How should I go about washing her? Where to begin?"

Yuuri collects himself and turns to him, his hands finding purchase in Makka's fur. And then he reaches for Victor's hand, too. He guides it onto Makka's back, opens his own fingers above Victor's and rubs a circle into it with his palm before withdrawing.

"You do it gently," he begins to say, moving his hand over to the side of Victor's. "You rub her with your hands first, then you use your fingers to undo the knots in her fur. I–" he pauses as he considers Victor. "Here, let me show you better."

He lets go of Makka, who swims away without being told to. And then Yuuri closes the mere distance between them and takes both of Victor's hands.

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life," Victor answers truthfully.

Yuuri smiles at him, clearly happy to hear it, and swims behind Victor. "Sink underwater, then. Just to wet your hair."

Knowing what he intends to do, Victor does as asked. It helps little to cool his head when water closes above him, so when he surfaces again, dripping, he can feel the warmth of his cheeks. The night wind brushes against them, and still they remain stubbornly flushed.

And then Yuuri's hands settle in Victor's hair. Gently, softly, he rubs his palms into Victor's head, while his fingers brush out the tangles from the ends of his hair. His touch is pure, it's bliss, and Victor doesn't know when the first moan slips from his lips. Yuuri continues to caress his hair even after he's done, as if it brought him just as much pleasure.

At last, his hands slip down Victor's nape to settle on his shoulders. "See? That's how you do it."

There is little Victor can say to that. He turns around to peer into Yuuri's face and it doesn't exactly surprise him to see it glow with a flush. It's hard to believe that it could be a sign, but… but…

Reason is not what guides Victor's heart. It rarely has been. And it is definitely not doing so now.

"Yuuri," he breathes, and brown eyes lift to meet his, "I– I–"

"I know," Yuuri admits, looking away again. "I know, Victor."

He says not a word more, but in his eyes Victor sees the reflection of what his own heart desires. He sees the want, the uncertainty, the awareness of the differences between them, the distance. And he knows, too, that these things are what traps them – together, yet separate. Joined, but alone.

Victor has followed the life of the stars almost as long as he can remember. He has never stepped out of his bounds, he has always worshipped in the cold, in the dark. He has never complained, as his heart has chosen its way.

As he looks at Yuuri now, at the regret curling around his pursed lips, at the want still present in his gaze, he knows that this is also what his heart has chosen. And to deny it would be to deny the rightfulness of his way. To deny the stars themselves.

So he doesn't.

Slowly, so as to give Yuuri the time to pull away if he'd read him wrong, Victor cups the side of Yuuri's face in one dripping palm and leans in, breathless before he even joins their lips together. Yuuri doesn't pull back. But he doesn't kiss Victor back, either.

"Do you know what you ask?" he speaks when Victor breaks the kiss, his heart full of ache.

"I know. It's impossible for us to be together. _I know_ ," Victor admits. "But I cannot help that my heart wants this. It wants you."

Yuuri's hand comes to rest against the side of Victor's neck. He taps Victor's jaw with his thumb and Victor lifts his eyes from where he dropped them at the clear rejection.

"You have given your life, your heart to the stars. To Makkachin," Yuuri reminds him. "Do you really have any left to give away?"

"Even if I didn't, it would still be yours," Victor answers, blushing at how desperate that makes him seem. Yet, there is not a single lie in what he has said.

It seems to make Yuuri's composure crumble. He leans forward and presses their foreheads together as if he must lean against something to carry the burden of what he says next.

"I cannot accept it."

"But you want to," Victor guesses, finding happiness in the river of ache that washes over him.

Yuuri laughs, a sound pained and confined. "Yes, Victor. I do. But I am of the stars and you are a human. You cannot go where I go, and I cannot stay here for long. This… there is no hope for us."

"I do not care if I cannot follow you," Victor says as his mind spins. If this is the only thing that stands between them… "I do not care if you cannot stay here. As long as you keep coming back every night, as long as you allow me to stay close when you do… that will be enough."

Yuuri looks him in the eye. There is longing there and a need to believe.

"I have devoted my life to the stars," Victor repeats. "So I will devote my heart to you. Nothing has to change."

"It will all change," Yuuri replies. But as Victor watches him, a small smile appears on his face. "But I do not have it in me to deny you, for I want this as well. If it is enough for you..."

"Whatever you wish to give," Victor vows.

"Distant as it may be, have my heart as well, then," Yuuri tells him, pulling back to take both of Victor's hands.

He joins them in his and bows to breathe into the space between them. Right before Victor's eyes, the cold, silver breath turns solid and forms a shape of a white rock, glowing with a subtle blue sheen. Much like a star, it sits in Victor's palms like a precious gem upon the nightly sky.

"To have and to hold," Yuuri says. "It is yours for as long as you want it."

"Forever then," Victor smiles, holding the stone to his chest with one hand. His other he uses to pull Yuuri to him, and with his breath on Yuuri's lips, he whispers: "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Yuuri says back. "Just kiss me, Victor."

And when he does, this time Yuuri kisses him back.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little fic, and thanks so much for reading! ❤️


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